Bodbe Monastery
Bodbe Monastery is a monument of Georgian architecture, the monastery complex of Saint Nino and an episcopal center in Kakheti. It's 2 km away from Sighnaghi (Kakheti Region).
The monastery was built on the burial site of Saint Nino, the enlightener of the Georgians, during the reign of Mirian III. According to P. Ioseliani, the monastery is named after Saint George and only the southern chapel, in which, Saint Nino was buried according to legend, bears the name of Saint Nino. Georgian kings paid special attention to the Bodbe Monastery. It has been repaired and restored many times. A three-nave basilica with three semicircular apses has survived from the monastery complex. Such apses are mainly found in ancient times (Bolnisi Sioni, Dzveli Gavazi, Ninotsminda cathedral, etc.).
According to historical sources, the original small church built by King Mirian was later enlarged in the 7th or 8th–9th centuries. It is now significantly altered. It bears traces of restoration of the 17th and 19th centuries. According to the inscription preserved in the church, it was thoroughly renovated and painted under the leadership of Ioane Makashvili, Metropolitan of Sighnaghi and Kiziki, in the 1820s.
In the 17th–18th centuries, the Bodbe Monastery was an important center of scribes. Zakaria Bodbeli (17th century), Ioane Jorjadze (18th century), David Bodbeli (18th century), Ioane Makashvili (1743–1837) and others worked here. In 1837, the Bodbe Monastery was abolished and became a parish church. In 1889, the Bodbe Nunnery was opened with its teacher training school, needlework and art departments.
In 2014, the iconostasis of the St. George Church in Bodbe was conserved and restored. The church is visited by many pilgrims and tourists.
Literature: Ч у б и н а ш в и л и Г. Н., Архитектура Кахетии, Тб., 1959.
